Sunday, March 9, 2014

Bright Ideas: Tips for Organizing Progress Monitoring Materials

Last time I was amazed at the wealth of knowledge shared, so be sure to hop through or browse through the linky at the bottom to find some new ideas to make your life easier as a teacher!

This year, I’m a reading specialist for 2-6 one half of the day, and a Title I teacher for kindergarten the other half of the day (at different schools). Organization has always been a challenge of mine, but this year it’s been impossible not to keep my progress monitoring materials and data organized.

For progress monitoring, I keep a binder for each measure. For instance, we share a big binder for AIMSweb passages at one of my schools. We have tabs to separate grade levels, and then we keep the ORF student copy on one side of the page protector, and the teacher copy (with numbers) on the other side. At my other school, I organize my EasyCBM Letter ID and Letter Sounds measures back to back, so that all of my week one materials are in one page protector and I just have to flip it over in between assessments.

I keep track of my official data for the class on a data sheet like this one I made. (Picture from last year, when we used DIBELS. Yes, I know ALL the tests now, haha.) I know this feels like one more thing to do, but like with my lesson plans, making the form that fits what I need at the beginning of the year is so helpful!

For anecdotal notes, I kept it very low-tech and used basic supplies you already have:

I flip the index cards over and write the students’ name or number on the edge of the card.

Then, I tape it down from the top on the very bottom of the file folder.

I layer the next card over it so just the name is showing.

And keep going…

And finally, I put a cover for the teacher’s name (or group time, boy/ girl, etc.) on the top of each group.

When I am finished adding for each class, I can easily flip to the kid I need- but the notes are always covered & secure.

When I fill a card, no problem- I just put a new one in its place and file the filled one away in my student folders. I might also use scrapbook paper and/ or washi tape to cute this up- but I was in a hurry and this only took me a few minutes to pull together!

All of my notes fit in this one folder for the entire afternoon- and if a teacher asks about that kid, it’s easy for me to instantly flip to that kid’s notes.

This could work for academic notes, behavioral, workshop/ CAFE conferencing, or pretty much anything YOU need- but it’s a simple way to keep anecdotal notes at your fingertips!

Next up in the link-up, you can find some new, fabulous writing ideas from The Bubbly Blonde.

Great way to put all the kids together in one binder! I also use index cards but I store them in those recipe card boxes - this is easy to see, and once they're filled up, they could go in the card box!

Hi, I'm Jenny. I am an elementary reading specialist who's also taught 2nd and 3rd grades. I am passionate about helping struggling kids grow and discover their love of reading, and I especially enjoy integrating science and social studies into literacy learning. I blog about my classroom so that I can share some of my ideas, especially with new teachers, and learn from other teachers too! I would love to hear from you!